


Charm Misdirect

by triggeringthehealing (froggydarren)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Creeper Peter, M/M, Peter wants to seduce Stiles, Pre-Relationship, Snarky Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-01-27 01:22:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12570548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggydarren/pseuds/triggeringthehealing
Summary: There are only so many times that Derek will go along with Peter's plans. He swears there is a last one, and it's pretty likely that this is it. Really, it should have been the time when he almost got arrested, or some of the times before.So when Peter asks Derek to be his wingman in Jungle, Derek says no. And thinks that that's the end of it.He's wrong.





	Charm Misdirect

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DancingLassie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancingLassie/gifts).



> Dear DancingLassie, thank you for your prompts, and I hope you like the one I chose to write. <3

“No.”

“Derek, come on, you know you want to go. You’ll have fun!”

“No.”

“You owe me,” Peter says, an amused lilt to his tone, but his voice firm.

“No, I don’t,” Derek replies, refusing to look up from the book he’s reading. “I am not getting dragged into your schemes again. Go find another wingman.”

“Laura’s refusing to go to  _ Jungle _ ,” Peter says, and it almost sounds like he’s pouting.

Derek chuckles, because he knows precisely  _ why _ Laura claimed she wouldn’t set foot in the club as a customer again. He was there when she got accosted by the queens the last time, and when they basically adopted her for the night after she got hit on by the  _ one _ stupid straight guy who thought it was a good idea to harass women in a gay club. Derek also knows that the guy is permanently banned, and that Laura was asked to join their security team after she … encouraged him to leave. But Derek still remembers the complaints about glitter that went on for  _ weeks _ after that night, said glitter courtesy of the queens. 

“Then go alone. Don’t get arrested. Make sure the kid you’re after this time is actually legal,” Derek says as he flips to the next page in his book.

“He is,” Peter says after a beat, sounding a little hesitant. “I’m pretty sure he is. He said he was.”

“So you already talked to him, what do you need  _ me _ for?” Derek looks up, setting the book down in his lap. “I was the one who almost ended up in the back of the Sheriff’s cruiser last time, when you decided to set your sights on a kid who was still in high school.”

Peter has the decency to look a little sheepish for a few beats, but Derek’s eyes narrow with suspicion at the smirk that follows. 

“Is this one a BHHS student?” 

He knows everything he needs to when Peter’s answer takes a beat too long, and when the sheepish look intensifies.

“No.”

“Lie,” Derek says flatly. “I’m not going.” 

He turns back to his book, and figures it will take about ten seconds before Peter starts trying again.

“I’ll tell Laura who suggested her for the security job there,” Peter says, his voice perfectly flat and lacking emotion, but his eyes narrowed when Derek looks up from his book. 

“You wouldn’t,” Derek hisses. “Why do you need me to come along anyway? We both know that you’re perfectly fine doing your flirting thing without a wingman.”

“It’s easier with you,” Peter says, shrugging his shoulders. “You’re the eye candy that gets their attention.”

“Oh right, because telling me to come along just so people can ogle me is just what will make me change my mind,” Derek tells him, rolling his eyes. “Seriously?” 

Peter sighs heavily, and Derek — glancing up for only a second — sees the resignation in his face. 

“Fine, okay, be a spoilsport. I’m going alone,” Peter says, not even trying to sound anything other than disappointed. “Might call you later if I need a ride.” 

“No,” Derek says, but it’s to an empty room, because he hears the front door slam just as he says it. 

The phone rings shrilly in the middle of the night, and Derek wakes with a start, his heart pounding as he blinks his eyes open. He knows the ringtone, of course, it’s one that Peter keeps changing Derek’s phone to, the one that’s guaranteed to alert him no matter what he might be doing. By the time he gets his hand on the phone, it’s not ringing anymore, and Derek lets his head fall back on his pillow, breathing slowly to calm his body down. He’s more prepared for the next time the ringtone fills the room, but he has no intention to be polite when he answers.

“What?” 

“Aw, Der, don’t be like that,” Peter drawls, static crackling around his words. “I did tell you I’d call for a ride, didn’t I?”

He sounds drunk, and Derek narrows his eyes into the darkness of his room, because there’s no way Peter actually  _ is _ drunk. Sure, they occasionally do come across werewolf-friendly alcohol, but  _ Jungle _ is definitely not the place. In the background, Derek can hear muted music and chatter, so he figures that Peter is faking to avoid suspicion. 

“Call Laura,” Derek says, but he’s already slowly sitting up. 

“Can’t, she’s working,” Peter says without a beat of hesitation. “She’s the one who told me to call you, and took my car keys.”

“You told her how she got the job offer,” Derek says accusingly. “Find your own way home, we both know you can.”

“Ah but I’ve already been seen this drunk, and Laura isn’t the only one who insisted that I call someone to bring me home, dear nephew,” Peter tells him smoothly, without hesitation. "You know we have to keep up appearances around here."

Derek huffs, annoyed but resigned, and he gets up. Once he has his keys and hears the satisfied "atta boy" from Peter, he ends the calls and heads out to his car. It's only a fifteen minute drive from their house to the club, and it's late enough that there is no traffic, so Derek manages to shave off a minute or two. He figures that the sooner he gets there, the faster he'll get Peter home and out of his hair. 

Of course, when he pulls up at  _ Jungle _ , Peter is nowhere to be seen. Derek lets out another annoyed sigh and gets out of the car to track his uncle down and drag him away from whatever he's up to, if necessary. 

"Where's Peter?" Derek asks when he stops by Laura, who's standing at the door, looking bored. 

She's not, and Derek notices her subtle movements that give away her alertness. However, she barely acknowledges him and only nods in the direction of the alley next to the club. Derek follows her glance and then walks that way, gearing up for a sight he really could do without tonight… or ever. To his relief, he only finds Peter leaning against the wall of the building, alone, looking like he's listening for something. 

"Hey," Derek says, and grins with glee when Peter jumps a little at the sudden noise. "Come on, since you dragged me out here, I'm getting you home. And then having Mom deal with you." 

Peter visibly cringes for a beat, but then his eyes widen as something else obviously reaches his ears. Derek  _ really _ doesn't want to know.

"You're a creep. I'm calling the cops on you next time," he says, turning away from Peter and taking a step towards the parking lot. "Come  _ on _ ." 

He can hear the soft shuffle of Peter following him out of the alley and towards the Camaro, but he doesn't get right in when Derek opens the doors. Instead, Peter's eyes are focused on the entrance of the club, and it's very much not Laura he's paying attention to. 

“No,” Derek says, already dreading what Peter’s about to do, even though he doesn’t know.

But he’s been there, maybe not in  _ Jungle _ but in a different club, or at a restaurant, or wherever else Peter chose to… well,  _ hunt _ for his next conquest. And Derek has been the unwilling wingman a few too many times. He’s definitely not doing it again, not if he has anything to say about it. 

Before he can drag Peter into the car and drive away, a small group of kids walks out of the front door, and they immediately start splitting into even smaller groups. Couples break away from the cluster and head for their cars — Derek hopes that Laura’s making sure they’re okay to drive, but he’s not about to go tell her how to do her job — until it’s only one of them left by the club, chatting animatedly at Laura, who looks amused. 

It’s an odd look on her, unusual to see when she’s working, and it distracts Derek just long enough to miss that Peter moves away from the car and towards the club again. When Derek notices, he groans in frustration and gets out too. 

“We’ll bring you home,” Peter says just as Derek focuses on the conversation. 

The kid — he’s gotta be 18, Derek knows, though he’s also pretty sure he’s not 21 yet — hesitates, and Derek can see him eyeing Peter with suspicion. 

“Peter isn’t going to be driving,” Laura chimes in. “I took his keys earlier. My brother came to pick him up,” she says, nodding towards Derek.

Suddenly there are three pairs of eyes on him, and Derek isn’t sure he likes that. But the kid nods, still hesitant, and then his eyes widen when he sees what car Derek is leaning on. It’s not the first time someone had that kind of a reaction to the Camaro, and Derek knows that he was probably the same before he bought it. Right now though, he wonders if it’s another part of Peter’s seduction plan. 

The way Peter is smirking at the kid’s reaction, it probably is. Derek sighs and peels himself away from the Camaro, then heads over to where they’re standing, aware of the fact that all three pairs of eyes are on him again now that he’s in full view. 

“See, completely sober nephew, at our service,” Peter says cheerfully when Derek stops in front of them. 

Laura does a strange combination of an eye roll and a smirk, then turns and walks back to the front door. Derek bites back all the comments that he has about her bailing on him  _ and _ the ones about Peter’s words. 

“Come on, I wanna get back home,” he tells Peter instead. 

“Hey, Derek, you wouldn’t mind taking a small detour, would you?” Peter asks, aiming for innocent but sounding more like he’s up to no good. Which really is his normal state, so it doesn’t surprise Derek in the slightest. 

“How far a detour are we talking?” 

The kid’s eyes widen — Derek still doesn’t know his name, and he’s more than a little tempted to either ask for his ID  _ or _ just drop him at the Sheriff’s station to give him a night in the cell for underage intoxication. 

“You could just drop me at BHPD,” the kid says, and it’s Derek’s turn to look shellshocked. “My Dad’s gonna drive me home when his shift is done.” 

“Your father is in the force, and you’re…” Derek starts, glancing at the club, and he takes a long whiff of the kid’s scent. “How did you even get in?” 

He’s going to give Laura a talk about letting in teens before they’re legal, no matter that they can’t purchase alcohol inside. 

“I’m nineteen, not that it’s any of your concern,” the kid says, sounding indignant. “And yeah, my Dad’s in the force. The Sheriff, actually.”

“Stilinski,” Peter says quietly. “I should’ve guessed.”

“Well, you’d think me telling you my name would have given it away,” the kid — Stilinski — tells Peter, sarcasm dripping from every word.

“Well,  _ Stiles _ , it should have. I must have been distracted,” Peter says, and Derek wants to drop  _ him _ at the Sheriff’s station for inappropriate behavior. 

“Right, is  _ anyone _ going home now, besides me?” Derek asks instead, sending Peter a “stop it” glare. 

Stiles shrugs and that’s as good as a “yes” as Derek figures he’s gonna get. Peter obviously thinks the same, because he throws an arm around Stiles’s shoulders and they all start moving towards the Camaro. Derek smirks when Stiles shakes the arm off a few steps later, but he does his best to ignore Peter’s attempts at starting a conversation with Stiles, even when he hears his own name mentioned. 

In the end, they drop Stiles off at his friend’s house, not at home, and Peter fails at not looking disappointed. 

“He probably thinks you’re a stalker,” Derek tells him as they drive back to their home. “Not that he’s wrong.”

“I’m offended, dear nephew,” Peter says, and Derek rolls his eyes. “I just wanted to make sure that Stiles gets home safe.”

“Yeah, sure,” Derek says, and then he goes back to ignoring Peter.

 

* * *

It’s not the last time he sees Stiles. Peter is set on charming the young man, and he has it in his head that Derek’s presence is absolutely imperative for his plans. 

Not that Derek notices at first. It’s not unusual for Peter to ask Derek to hang out, to go to dinner together, or to ask Derek for a ride somewhere. Since Peter doesn’t drive much, he often ends up calling someone from the family to either bring him places or pick him up. 

Over the weeks following Derek’s first encounter with Stiles at  _ Jungle _ , Derek finds himself frequently in places he’d normally not visit, at least not with Peter. 

There’s the library, and the sudden need for a research session to update the family Bestiary, which conveniently coincides with Peter finding out that Stiles volunteers there for the summer. Derek suspects that this is not new information for his uncle, but he is willing to consider it a coincidence. 

Then Peter gets arrested for something completely idiotic — Derek isn’t even thinking about the many ways that his arrest should never have happened — and needs to be picked up and vouched for. The moment that Derek gets a whiff of Stiles’s increasingly familiar scent, and then spots him at the front desk with a bunch of files he’s sorting out, he’s inclined to leave Peter in his cell for the night. 

The cinema is the least conspicuous of the places where they run into Stiles — along with a few friends, some of whom are vaguely familiar — because Derek knows of Peter’s badly hidden weakness for superhero movies. He does refuse to sit any closer than five rows behind Stiles’s group, no matter how much Peter tries to change his mind. It’s still bad enough that he knows that instead of paying attention to the movie’s dialogue, Peter eavesdrops on whatever he can catch of the quiet whispers between Stiles and his friends. 

He does eventually draw the line — after a series of other encounters — when Peter suggests a drive in the middle of the night through a part of the town that Derek is pretty sure no one goes for drives in. Unless, and he’s all too aware of this from his teenage years and first few times out with the Camaro, they want to be flagged down by the frequent patrols through the area. Knowing who Stiles’s father is, Derek doesn’t think the patrol cars are in that part of town by accident. 

By then, though, he’s become fond of Stiles. He’d seen and heard enough  _ about _ him from Peter and he’s learned enough himself from the snippets of conversations. Stiles is smart, quick, and from the thoughts that he voices, more than just curious about the most random things. He’s funny, and his sense of humor fits perfectly with Derek’s — dry and sarcastic, not pulling any punches when it comes to people he dislikes. 

He’s also very much the type Derek would usually go for physically — tall and skinny, with just enough muscles to give away that he’s strong, upturned nose and bright eyes occasionally framed by glasses he wears for reading. Derek is… intrigued at the very least. 

It startles him, the first time he feels a smile tug on his lips when Stiles gesticulates as he talks about something in the library — Peter’s visits have become almost regular, and Derek’s the one bearing the brunt of car ride duties, because Laura refuses to deal with their uncle. Normally, the guys that Peter would choose for his unsubtle missions —  _ stalking _ , really — are in no way interesting to Derek. But Stiles has captured Derek’s attention now. Derek is not willing or eager to do anything about it though, not with Peter still on his quest to charm Stiles, not when it would mean risking a rejection.

“I see you,” Peter says in a conspiratorial tone. 

“What?” Derek asks, narrowing his eyes in confusion. 

“You like him.”

“Who?” 

“Don’t play stupid, Derek,” Peter says, rolling his eyes. “I’ve seen you watching him for the past few days. You  _ like _ him.”

“I’m not you,” Derek grouses. “I don’t  _ watch _ people.”

“Oh, but you do,” Peter says, sounding gleeful. “You’re just subtle about it. And right now, you have an excuse. Me.”

“I’m here to drive you back home, that’s all,” Derek says. 

“How about I grab my own car,” Peter tells him, and Derek’s eyes widen in surprise. “That way, you can stay here, pretend to be reading, and maybe try to charm the boy.” 

“What.”

“Don’t play stupid,” Peter says, already getting up from his chair. “I tried, he’d be worth even more effort, but I’ll cede this one to you.”

Derek doesn’t say or do anything until after Peter has sauntered out of the library. He throws Derek, who is caught completely off guard, one last satisfied smirk and a nod towards the front desk. When Derek follows his gaze, Stiles is there, deep in conversation with a visitor, hands flying as he’s explaining… well, Derek can hear him but he can’t quite follow the thoughts or sentences. 

What he can follow, however, is the way his heart beats a little faster when Stiles smiles. 

_ Crap _ , Derek thinks, realizing that Peter was right. He  _ likes _ Stiles. Somehow, during the many encounters during the past few weeks, while he was just observing Peter as he failed over and over at charming Stiles, Derek has started falling for him. He tears his gaze away from the front desk and ducks his head, pretending to be reading the book that’s open in front of him, but his eyes are unfocused. 

He wonders when it happened, and how he didn’t notice that he’s been less reluctant to tag along with Peter for the last few days. Time ticks away, and it’s only when the quiet chime that indicates that it’s almost closing time echoes through the reading area that Derek realizes he should move. Looking at the table that Peter was sitting at, he also knows that leaving will require a trip to the front desk, as some of the books that Peter left behind need to be returned directly to staff, and can’t just be dropped off on one of the nearby trolleys. 

Of course, when he gets to the front desk, the only person there is Stiles. 

“Hi,” Derek says quietly. “My uncle had these out, he mentioned they need to be returned directly,” he tells Stiles, nodding at the books in his hands. 

“Ah yeah, the historical collection,” Stiles says, smiling. “I wish I had time to dive into those, it’s fascinating.”

“History of Beacon Hills is fascinating?” Derek asks before he can think too hard about it being a conversation starter. 

“Dude, yes!” Stiles replies with excitement. “I’ve had a look at some of them, and there’s… well, did you know that this town used to have a wolf pack? Like, not one that lived out in the unpopulated area, but a local pack that lived out in the Preserve. Which, I mean, yes, it sort of qualifies as unpopulated, but it’s still closer to town than wolves usually set up camp. Or a den. Or whatever it is they do. But anyway, they were specifically local, until wolves were banned from the state. I wonder, now that they’re being repopulated around the country, if there’s going to be a new pack that will settle here. Maybe their old den is still there to use? Hm, it would be kind of cool to go out there and see if I can find them. Scott’s been trying to talk me out of it, but man… wolves.”

“Scott?” Derek asks, a little overwhelmed at the sudden barrage of Stiles’s rambling right in his face. 

It’s different than when he caught only snippets before, but it’s endearing to watch Stiles talk about something he’s obviously passionate about. 

“Oh, Scott, my bro, my best friend,” Stiles says. “Well, soon to be real bro, now that my Dad’s got his head out of his ass and asked Scott’s Mom out. Tho she’s been also kind of seeing Allison’s Dad. Allison is Scott’s ex, so that would still be a little weird. Plus, my Dad’s liked Melissa for years. Not that I want to think about that too much.”

Derek chuckles.

“Guess you don’t have those kind of problems,” Stiles says, hands moving as he goes back to scanning the books through. 

“No. Not unless Mom or Dad aren’t telling me something,” Derek says. “Though we don’t really keep secrets.”

_ Or can’t _ , he thinks,  _ since we’re the pack you’ve been rambling about. _

“I used to keep secrets, all the time,” Stiles says, latching on to that sentence. “Not that it was easy, with my Dad being the Sheriff.” 

“Trying to fool the man whose job it is to see through lies? Yeah, I can imagine that wasn’t easy.” 

Derek feels his cheeks warm when Stiles looks up with a smile. 

“Anyway, how come you’re bringing these back? Is this some sort of trick from Peter? To like, butter me up by sending you?” Stiles asks, looking at Derek with suspicion.

He’s obviously done with the books, the pile neatly put aside. 

“No, he just... he left and these were still on the table,” Derek says, glancing at the books. “And I remembered that they couldn’t just be left out or on the trolleys.”

“Well remembered,” Stiles says. “And you look sincere enough. I don’t know though, he’s been pretty persistent. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and lull me into believing he’s given up.”

“I think he has,” Derek says, recalling Peter’s words from earlier.

Stiles narrows his eyes again with suspicion. 

“Is there a way I could convince you? Make sure you can sleep easy, knowing that he’s not going to bother you anymore?” Derek asks, feeling a smile tug on his lips when Stiles’s own lips turn up. 

“I don’t know, I might just be a little disappointed if that’s the case,” Stiles says, most definitely teasing this time.

“Oh? Why is that?” Derek asks, feeling more flirty than he has in years. 

“He did usually bring  _ you _ along,” Stiles says, a faint blush coloring his cheeks, and a glint in his eyes. “I’ll miss that.”

“You don’t have to,” Derek says, and Stiles’s eyes widen a fraction. “If you’d like me to, I’ll still show up.”

It’s Stiles’s turn to lift an eyebrow with curiosity. 

“I think I’ve developed an interest in the history of Beacon Hills. The library is addictive, I’ll have to keep coming back,” Derek tells him, smiling softly. “Do you guys do guided sessions?” 

“Okay, that was  _ almost _ on the level of your uncle,” Stile says with a shudder, but still smiling. “Just for that, because I had to hear those words, you owe me a coffee.” 

“Done. When?” Derek says quickly, unwilling to lose the chance.

“Well, I’ve clocked out officially about…,” Stiles glances at the clock, “five minutes ago. So, now?” 

Derek doesn’t bother feeling embarrassed by how quickly he nods, or how bright his smile is when Stiles grins. He watches as Stiles grabs his bag and jacket from behind the desk, and then they head towards the front door side by side. 

“So, you said you were interested in the history of our lovely town,” Stiles starts when they leave the library. “Was that just a ruse, or are you really? And if you are really interested, is it the wolf thing?”

Derek  _ doesn’t _ choke on air, but it’s a close thing. It’s going to be an interesting ride. 

  
  



End file.
